


How can lies hurt so much?

by Ian_MD



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Friendship, Makoto POV, One Shot, Poor Ren boi, Ren POV, Romantic Friendship, Serious to funny, Students at Shujin are EVIL, long story, lots of thoughts, really long story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14969663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ian_MD/pseuds/Ian_MD
Summary: Ren Amamiya was accustomed to hearing rumors and lies about himself every day. All of them baseless and fake. They never bothered him, and he thought it would always be that way. After all, lies can't hurt someone, right?





	How can lies hurt so much?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic in... a couple of years actually. Wanted to let you know this is a big one shot (so much so that it was 16 FREAKING PAGES IN MICROSOFT WORD), so brace yourselves!

 

“I’ve heard he’s done it all. Drugs, Alcohol, weapons… this guy’s dangerous”  
“Yeah, but those are all small deeds compared to some other stuff people say about him. I’ve heard he is actually part of a gang!  
“I’ve heard that too! And that he also tortured a lot of people during his time in there! Why the hell did the principal take him in!? I want him out of here ASAP!”  
“I agree. I don’t feel safe here with him roaming around our school. And neither do most of the students.”  
“Should we make a petition to get him kicked out of our school? I mean, if people don’t feel safe with him around, couldn’t he be considered a threat?”  
“Good idea! We could also add Sakamoto to the list!”

He heard rumors like that ever since he came to this damn school. He thought they would die down after the Phantom Thieves became popular, but he was proven wrong. While people did indeed comment a lot more about them and less about him, the ones that did comment about the infamous transfer student were making up more and more over the top lies to damage his reputation, even though it has already been 5 months. Ren couldn’t understand their reasoning for trying so hard to break his reputation even more. He was already hated by the whole school since the day they heard his name, so why did people create even more rumors, accusations and lies to tarnish his name? He knew they didn’t care about him, and neither did him to them, so why the excitement of trash talking him?

“Everyone, please stop speaking like that about Ren-kun!” A soft voice reached over to the students bad-mouthing Ren. “Won’t you please consider how he feels? He’s just as human as we are!”

The frizzy-haired boy saw as Haru approached the other students, with a worried expression, but it felt more like it was for her friend than the ones talking about said friend. One of the female students scoffed.

“Hmph. He may be human, but he’s a bad person. Attacking another man out of the blue like that is not a behavior a good person would have.” The fluffy haired student looked down, wanting to tell these people how the ‘delinquent’ was falsely accused, but noticing that they wouldn’t believe or understand her. So she just looked at the group and said:

“Well, I’ll treat him like a normal human being. What he was in the past doesn’t matter to me; I want to know who he is now. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an assignment to conclude.” She left the group there and started going to the library, but not before noticing that the friend she was trying to protect was watching it all. She smiled sadly at him and mouthed a ‘sorry’, to which he just responded with his own smile and a mouthed ‘don’t worry, nothing I can’t take’. She seemed to calm down and turned to the stairs, presumably to go to the library.

“Hey, you’re gonna talk with Makoto, right?” Morgana suddenly said, popping his head out of the bag. Ren nodded. “Well, since you’re gonna be busy talking to her, I’m gonna talk to Haru. See you soon!” The (not) cat jumped out of the bag going to join the fluffy haired girl. The frizzy-haired boy (as Morgana first called him) was a bit worried someone would find a cat walking around school and kick it out, but then he remembered he was thinking about Mona. He relaxed a bit and decided to head to his destination. A new thought formed in his head as he went there.

While it was nice seeing his friend trying to stand up for him, as he said to her, it was nothing he couldn’t take. He was accustomed to the harmful words that penetrated his ears, letting them in through one of them and letting them out through the other. He had to be strong to not worry his teammates/friends. One thing he could not tolerate, however, was when they talked crap about said people. Sometimes, he felt they had it even worse than him since they’ve been at Shujin Academy for at least one year, which would mean they’ve been hearing these rumors for two consecutive years. Yet, when he asked Ryuji and Ann about it, they said that it wasn’t a problem and asked if HE was alright with all the rumors. While he was irritated that they wouldn’t worry about themselves, he was a little happy that they worried about him, though he thought it was unnecessary. After all, he was their leader. He had to be strong for them. Makoto was also very supportive, helping snuff out rumors whenever she could. He told her she didn’t need to do that, yet she just said that being able to help one of her closest friends was more than enough to make her happy, even though she didn’t get many chances to do so. The leader of the Phantom Thieves thought himself really blessed to have such wonderful friends in and out of school, people that actually cared about him and that made him happy, while also being happy of being with him

Little did he know his feelings and psyche would be tested today…

Makoto called him to the student council room so they could talk on how to go about Eiko’s situation with her boyfriend, as they wanted to investigate the red-light district to see if they could find any evidence on Tsukasa. Truthfully, he was really looking forward to talking with the student council president because he had a huge crush on her. He found her pretty when he got to school and saw her studying at the library, but after she awakened to Johanna, he found himself thinking about her a lot more… about her cute, short hair, her beautiful face and body and, most importantly, her intelligence. He hoped this crush of his wouldn’t affect his behavior much. He was wrong. He would inadvertently try to do some more daunting tricks in the Metaverse to impress her (such as trying to summon more than one Persona at once) and sometimes having a big dumb grin on his face when he heard her in their strategy meetings (or on any occasion he thought she sounded cool). This, obviously, did not go unnoticed by his teammates, though to the frizzy-haired boy, he was happy it at least took them one month to realize his feelings for their vice-leader. Morgana, Ryuji and Ann all teased him about it when she wasn’t around. Yusuke would tell Ren to let him paint them both together if he managed to attract her, which was a suggestion the leader really enjoyed, though it made him as red as his Metaverse gloves. Ren managed to keep his crush hidden from Makoto herself (somehow), but his feelings toward her were getting stronger the more time they spent together.

When Ren (finally) snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that he was in front of the student council door, he stopped to recollect himself. Only to notice there were voices coming from the room, Makoto’s and that of another council member. He couldn’t clearly hear what they were saying, so he focused and activated his Third Eye so he could hear well. He himself didn’t realize this when he got the Third Eye from Igor, but every sense would be amplified by activating this ability. He sometimes used Third Eye while eating Sojiro’s curry so he could savor the taste more. He heard the two of them arguing.

“-it’s not safe! Why do you keep talking to him?!” the male member said angrily.

“As I have previously said, Ren-kun is a great friend. He helps me with a lot of problems, even volunteering to help with student council matters.” Makoto responded in a serious and firm tone. Ren was happy that she found his help useful in student council matters. This was a topic he did have some difficulty at first but slowly started getting the hang of it, though never sure if he did a good enough job. Hearing this made him smile a bit.

“But he isn’t a member of our council! He can’t know how we handle matters here!” Though this comment just made his mood drop again.

“Actually, after explaining how we handle matters here, he does an amazing job. He’s almost as good as me when it comes to sorting through student and school problems. He’s definitely a lot more helpful than _someone_ I know.” The president responded with a little bit of venom on her voice. The member in front of her actually managed to make her angry. He almost never arrived at council meetings on time and never actually commented anything useful, just made some crude jokes and looked at his phone while other members actually gave a damn. He was on a thin line with everyone at the council. The only reason he was still there is because they had nobody to substitute him, and he actually did one useful thing: he would put up the notices the council had on the school boards. Seems like that was the only thing the guy was good for. Yet today, he was being more annoying than normal, and Makoto was having none of that, especially since he was bad-mouthing Ren, one of the few people that actually cared about her.

“Wha…?! Have you lost your mind?! You’re letting a _delinquent_ handle important school matters! What if he just decides to suddenly let someone go because he doesn’t like them or make a move on your life?!” The member responded, getting angrier by the second. How could she defend a delinquent like him? How could she _trust him_?!

“…I’m sorry, _what_?” _Queen_ responded, dumbfounded. Even _Ren_ was begging to get angry at the guy. Though he started to take deep breaths. ‘ _He’s not worth it’_.

“What do you mean, what?! He’s dangerous!!! He carries weapons, did drugs and alcohol and beat people up!!! If you look at him, you can see that something’s not right with the guy!!! Listen to me, he’ll hurt you if you keep up with your honor student rehabilitation bullshit!” Makoto decided he crossed the line.

“Stop right now. You’re being inconsiderate towards one of our students and blaming him of serious crimes based on rumors, while also insulting what I do. I do not want you to tell me how to do what _I want to do with him_ , which is to chat and get to know him for who he really is. Now leave.” Makoto sounded angry, and if Ren himself wasn’t losing his temper again for the guy having talked crap about Makoto, he would have been terrified.

“…! Now I get it.” The guy said with conviction “You keep going after him because you’re like him. You pretend to be nice and honorable, but deep down you’re a troublemaker who uses people for your own gain!”

…what.

That didn’t even _remotely_ sound like Makoto, or line up with any of her actions. Where the hell did that guy take that explanation out of? It seemed like she was also really confused since she was also silent. Maybe the dude was jealous? If he was, then he wasn’t just a douchebag, he was a piece of shit.

The silence continued until the other member suddenly said “I knew it. _That’s_ why you decided to learn Aikido. So you could beat people up!!!” How did this guy know she learned aikido? And why was Ren having so much difficulty controlling himself? Even his mind was getting redder than he’d like to admit.

“…leave. _Now._ ” Makoto was sounding more and more like Queen as the argument continued. Ren was afraid of turning into Joker if things got bad.

“So you DO admit it! You manipulative bitch!”

If Ren was already struggling before with controlling himself, hearing a scream and a _slap_ was what sent him over the edge.

He immediately opened the door as fast as he could, shouting Makoto’s name, seeing the guy looking down at Makoto, who was down on the ground with a red cheek. The guy turned around, barely processing that Ren, no, _Joker_ , had punched him in the face. As he fell down and hit his head, Ren was on top of him. He quickly remembered the Third Eye was activated and deactivated it. The guy he jumped on was as Neito Monoma, a lazy troublemaker that belonged to the council and was really jealous of Makoto’s position. “Hitting a woman because she doesn’t agree with you and is defending herself?! You are a coward, you asshole!”

Neito had eyes the size of basketballs as he looked up at the angry boy on top of him but then chuckled. “You know you just attacked a student council member with no reason, right? I can get you expelled by just telling the principal of what you did here. Especially considering your criminal record.”

Ren lowered his fist for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, the coward was right.  He did raise his fist again and replied “Yes, but you HIT the STUDENT COUNCIL _PRESIDENT!_ That is a much worse offense to the school!”

“True, but I’d probably just be suspended for a few days and get a small report on me. Though, considering how the principal ignored what happened with Kamoshida, he would probably overlook this as well.” Did the _bitch really go **there**?_ “You, on the other hand, would be expelled and sent to juvenile detention. Your life would be ruined!” Ren was really pissed at this… he wasn’t even sure which curse word to use to describe the person that was below him. He couldn’t even begin to think of him a human being because of how pissed he was. “And let me tell you a little secret” The guy dared continue, with a mocking tone “I have half the council on my side. I can send that bitch down with you so you won’t be so lonely anymore!”

Ren lost control. Even though the part about Neito having half the council on his side was probably a bluff, the only thing he saw was red and the only thing he felt was rage. He was about to punch the guy again. His fist was really high up and he knew the force would knock the guy out. As he was about to bring his fist down, however, he felt a soft hand hold his own. He looked behind and saw Makoto holding his fist with both her hands. She was wide-eyed as she looked at him and shook her head as a “no”. Ren stopped himself. He wanted so bad to punch the guy again for having slapped Makoto. He saw her beautiful face had a really red mark on her left cheek. He then looked into her eyes. She was surprised, but he also felt some rage coming from those round red orbs. And yet, he noticed some gentleness in those orbs too, almost as if she were saying _don’t do this_. He slowly lowered his fist, looking at it, then Neito, then Makoto. He slowly got up from the guy, who was looking even more pleased with himself, then looking at Makoto and her looking at him sternly. He felt like he screwed up as he didn’t know how to fix the situation. The only thing the leader of the Phantom Thieves could do was look to the ground in confusion and shame. What if she was angry at him? What if she decided that she wouldn’t want to talk to him anymore because he punched one of the other student council members?! What if-

“Ren” Her voice was lacking emotion “Look at me.” Okay, NOW he was afraid. He thought angry Makoto was scary, but emotionless Makoto was way scarier.

The glassed boy slowly looked up at his crush, afraid of what she would say. When he finally looked at her in the eye, she was  _smiling._

“…Why didn’t you let me have some fun too?” She said in a playful tone. Out of all the responses she could have given him, this was the one he was expecting the least. Neito was also confused, so much so that he forgot to stand up. Ren then understood what the brunette meant, and slowly smiled. And not just any smile. The Joker smile. He also saw her Queen smile on her lips now (yes, she did have one. Rare, but existent).

“How could I be so inconsiderate? Of course, my Queen, have fun.” He responded in a playful tone. Makoto looked at the leader with her smirk still there, mouthing a _thank you_ before turning to the boy on the floor. She immediately turned her Queen smile into a Queen stare, almost looking inside the troublemaker’s soul. Only then he noticed his disadvantage compared to the two friends in front of him and his face showed pure fear. The look the president gave him would certainly create many nightmares for the boy.

“So, you think I use people for my own personal gain? And that I learned Aikido so I could extort them? Except for the Aikido part, all that I said applies more to you than to me, _Neito_ , since you used the council to get more grades, not be on the teacher’s radar and reply ‘I’m from the council, you better watch out!’ every time someone disagreed with you.” Queen said with full venom on her voice. “And not only did you insult one of my closest friends, you did the same to me while also hitting me. You may not know it, but a student council president has quite a lot of power within the school. I just never had to use it before, since there were no people that had committed near-crimes here and since I’ve never had the opportunity to _benefit myself because of that power_.” Ren was so happy to see that guy as white as a ghost and even happier that Makoto was standing up for herself outside the Metaverse. He never doubted she could do that, but she was always hesitant to do so. Seeing her like this filled him with pride for the girl.

“Please, _please_ , I’ll do anything! I’ll stop talking about glasses guy! _PLEASE LET ME LIVE!!!_ ” Said glasses boy was trying not to laugh at how pathetic the troublemaker looked now, his previous anger gone from his mind.

“ _Anything?_ ” The brunette asked.

“Yes, anything! Just don’t kill me!!!” The member begged.

“Leave the student council, apologize to me and never, EVER, talk to or about Ren-kun again.”

“But-“

Queen interrupted. “Do you _really_ think you are in a position where you can say ‘but’?”

“…” Neito had clearly lost the argument. He slowly got up after Makoto let him go and said “I’m sorry, Amamiya-san, Niijima-san. I will leave the student council and never trash talk Amamiya-san from now on…” Neito said, defeated. Ren made a mental note to _never_ upset Makoto, though Ryuji and Ann had already warned him on this subject. Had they already predicted something like this happening?

“Good” Makoto replied. “Now, come here. I need to tell you one last thing before you leave.”

The boy slowly got closer to her, leaning with his ear close as she was about to whisper something into it. Instead, she grabbed his head, turned it to look at her and punched him in the nose with enough force for him to fall down again. Even Ren felt that one in himself, and he was happy that Makoto just beat the guy up. ‘ _Nice hook!_ ’ Ren thought.

“ _That was for the slap. Consider yourself lucky I won’t report you to the police for assault._ ”

Neito immediately got up and ran out of the room, screaming in horror and pain. Any passerby students just looked confused at him and then at the student council room, where Ren and Makoto where. Said boy was closer to the door than the girl, so he heard what he feared people would say if they saw the school ‘delinquent’ next to a door a student who just received a punch just ran out of.

“Oh my god, did Amamiya just punch Neito-san?!”

“Yeah, he did! What the hell!”

“Wait, is he keeping Makoto-senpai hostage?! Does he plan on beating her too?!”

“Makoto-senpai! Get out of there! We’ll hold him back!”

“Don’t come any closer!” The girl responded. “I am fine, and Ren-kun didn’t punch Neito. I did. He was being disrespectful to the council and the school. Now, everyone, please leave us.” She went to try and close the door, but a male student just held the door.

“Stop lying, Prez! I know _he_ is threatening you to say this! You are clearly scared!” He then looked at the boy. “Hey, criminal! Get away from Miss Prez! You were the one who slapped her, right?! You coward!”

Ren couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t know how Makoto was reacting to the situation and even forgot about the vow he made of being strong in front of his friends as he got on his knees and closed his eyes. ‘ _Don’t break, don’t break. These people don’t know anything. You would never attack Makoto like that. Ignore it…’_ Suddenly, the whole hall was quiet, nobody daring to say anything. _‘Please… don’t break. Not in front of her…’_ One third-year attempted to make a comment.

“Is he… preparing to attack us?”

_‘Don’t…’_

“I think he’s preparing to attack Niijima-senpai again! Run, Senpai!” A second-year responded.

_‘Shut up…’_

_‘Shut up…’_

_‘Shut up…’_

_‘SHUT UP!!!’_

 “SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!!! HOW CAN YOU BLAME ME FOR EVERYTHING THAT GOES WRONG HERE?! HOW CAN YOU ALL BELIEVE IN RUMORS ABOUT ME AND NOT EVEN **BOTHER** TO CHECK IF THEY’RE TRUE?! DO YOU ALL REALLY DON’T CARE HOW I FEEL LISTENING TO THESE GOD-FORSAKEN RUMORS EVERY SINGLE DAY?! HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE?! HOW CAN YOU KEEP CREATING MORE?! HOW…” He was silent for a few seconds. “How… can you say that I would hurt one of the most important people in my life…?”

If the hall was silent before, it somehow became even more silent as people saw Ren Amamiya, the never responding “delinquent” _start to cry_. It seemed like time slowed down, as the only sound anyone in that hall could listen were the silent sobs of the most infamous students in Shujin. The first one to react was Makoto, who kneeled down by her friend’s side, hesitating a bit, but putting his head on her chest. Then, she stared at everyone outside the room with her fierce Niijima _and_ Queen glare and said “Everyone, get out. **_NOW._** ” She didn’t need to say that twice, as the hall was empty in less than a second. She closed the door and looked at her teammate with worry. “Hey, Ren, shh, shhhh, it’s okay now. The people outside are gone. You don’t need to listen to them anymore.” She said in a comforting tone. Ren was trying to calm himself down but was having extreme difficulty in doing so.

“Makoto… I’m _tired_ … I thought these rumors wouldn’t get to me since I’ve been listening to them for 5 months now… but… _but_ …”

“Ren, it’s okay. I’m surprised you never complained about them and just listened to them for as long as you did…” As she saw her leader and best friend vulnerable for the first time since she met him, she felt guilty for not helping him sooner. She could have used her power as council president to help snuff out more rumors, be it by respect or fear…

She didn’t know how long she held him for, 5, 10 minutes, it didn’t matter. All she wanted to do was comfort her friend who had broken down because of idiotic people. She would have a _serious talk_ to the rest of the council and the school about rumors. As she felt him start to calm down, she herself started planning the meeting in her head. First, she would-

 “I’m sorry, Makoto” Ren suddenly said.

That was… sudden and unexpected. “What for? There’s no reason for you to-“

“For being weak.” He said with fewer tears in his eyes, but with a tone of anger in his voice. Makoto felt it wasn’t directed at her, though, but at himself.

A confusion spell would have probably confused her less than his phrase just now. Being weak? What could he possibly mean by that?

“Ren-kun, you’re not weak. In fact, it’s the opposite, you’re one of the strongest people I know!”

“Strong in the Metaverse, maybe” He responded, still crying, but getting angrier at himself. “But what good does being strong in there mean if I’m not strong here? If I let some baseless rumors about people that don’t even care about anything get to me, then I’m not strong. I’m just as weak and idiotic as the people who spread and created those rumors.” He squirmed out of her embrace, still sitting on the ground. “If I can be broken by those stupid rumors, then something a little stronger would certainly send me down a spiral of depression, don’t you think?” He said sarcastically with a laugh. The brunette noticed he was going down a spiral of self-loathing and decided to stop him. The moment she opened her mouth to speak, however, he continued. “And just hearing them talk that I was gonna hurt you… I would never do that, yet the moment they mention it, I just freeze. I would never… never…” His voice was wavering again. Makoto decided it was enough.

“Ren-kun.” She said softly, holding his face in her hands and guiding it so he looked her in the eye. “You are NOT weak.” She saw he was going to object, so she just put her finger on his lips. “Let me tell you a little secret, Ren-kun: I suffered in middle school from bullying as well.” His eyes were wider than they’d ever been before at hearing this revelation. Makoto was bullied in middle school?! Who the hell- “I know what you’re thinking, Ren-kun, but don’t worry. It’s all in the past now.”

“Of course I’ll worry! Makoto, why didn’t you tell anyone this?” He asked in a desperate tone.

“If I had told you this before or after now, would it have made any difference? I would have just worried you for no reason. And I don’t want to add to your pile of worries. You have plenty just being yourself and doing what you do…” She responded with a soft yet firm tone. He felt some sadness coming from her voice and eyes. “But getting back at my secret, do you know why I was bullied, Ren-kun?” He swung his head from side to side as a ‘no’. “Because I was always book smart. The other students were always jealous of me, so they started spreading rumors around, like ‘Makoto is really smart, but she looks down on everyone’ and comments like ‘shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?’ and other crude comments like those.” Ren was still wide-eyed, but this time angry at the other students, especially considering this probably happened to Makoto when she and the other students were still children, between childhood and adolescence, so how were they so… prejudiced? She continued. “I ignored it in the beginning, deciding that those people weren’t worth my time. But after a few months, I started to feel depressed. I decided to ask dad about why that was. He said it was because I felt left out, isolated” She paused. “I believe the same is happening to you right now, Ren-kun”

He stopped to think about it. It made sense. The only place he felt welcomed was when he was with the Phantom Thieves, his friends or with Sojiro. It felt like the rest of the world didn’t care that he existed, even though he was a Phantom Thief and was responsible for helping many people’s lives. “So… you’re saying I want some acknowledgment?” Makoto nodded. “Wouldn’t that make me selfish, though? I mean, the targets whose hearts we changed wanted to enforce their desires onto the rest of us. Wouldn’t that be the same as wanting to be acknowledged, or wanting your point of view to be acknowledged?” He asked, suddenly worried about himself.

“Yes, to our targets yes.” Even though she said ‘to our targets, Ren looked down at the ground in shame. Makoto made him look at her again. “However, you are NOT one of our targets, Ren-kun. You don’t want to force people to acknowledge your point of view or actions by forcing them upon said people. You want them to acknowledge you because your actions are noble. When you got to the top of your class last exams, didn’t everyone at school look at you a bit differently?” He nodded. “You didn’t do that to stand out. You did that so you could do well in school and learn new info for our mission, correct?” He nodded again. “You did it to help us. And only then were you recognized, even if just a bit and for the wrong reasons. Ren-kun, acknowledgment is something every person wants. It’s natural for a social species such as our own to want that. Yet society distorts people to a point they don’t care about the well-being of others or morals. You know that better than anyone. And you could have gone down a similar path, especially considering every awful thing that happened to you. Yet you didn’t. You stood up against society and decided to do things your way. And what did that get you?” She asked gently, looking at him as for him to continue her line of thought.

“…I got great friends. I got a new family. I got the Phantom Thieves. I got you…” He responded sincerely, her reasoning finally reaching him. She blushed a bit at the last comment and beamed at him.

“Yes! Even after being falsely accused and having your life being turned upside down, you kept your head high and went alone. And we decided to join you because we have similar goals and ideologies. But most of all, we all like you, Ren. When I said you are strong, I meant it. You are one… no, THE strongest person I’ve ever met. But even though you’re strong, you’re still human. And any human would break if they lived the same torment you lived, and probably much earlier.” She looked at him in the eye with the warmest expression he ever saw on her face. “You know what dad told me after I told him about what was bothering me?” He waited for her to continue. “He said for me to ignore the other people who were bullying me. He told me that they didn’t matter, as they would never know the real me. If I wanted to be acknowledged by someone, it should only be by those I care about and love. And he said…” She paused for a bit. “He said… that he loved me no matter what… and that he would always acknowledge the woman I was turning into…” She said with tears forming in her eyes. Ren finally understood then what she was trying to tell him.

“So… you and the rest of my friends and the Phantom Thieves acknowledge me?” She nodded. “And you are the only ones I should care about, not these other people?” She nodded again, looking a bit happier, but still trying to fight her tears. Ren, now having snapped out of his self-loathing, decided to do something that would change his life for the better.

He hugged Makoto.

The action surprised the red-eyed girl, as she just looked at the poof of black hair in front of her face, speechless for the millionth time that day. After a few seconds of being dazed, she hugged him back, as they both just stood there, hugging each other for a few moments that felt much longer. He then slowly let her go and wiped the tears off her face. “Thank you, Makoto. For everything.” She just smiled back and leaned into his hand, closing her eyes as she found comfort in his firm yet gentle hand on her right cheek. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and looked into his own. They both saw that the other was completely exposed, yet happy. They smiled again at each other, feeling something in their chests, as their heartbeats slowly started to accelerate. Were they…?-

The door suddenly slammed open, with Ryuji, Ann and Morgana barging into the room screaming Ren’s name, while Haru entered behind them, looking surprised at their behavior. The boy and girl in the ground jumped (somehow) and quickly let each other go, blushing at the memory of what they were doing and wondering if their friends saw them a second ago.

It seemed they didn’t notice, as Ryuji said “Oh, you’re here, dude! We finally found you!”

Ren collected himself enough to reply “Why were you looking for me?”

“Uhh, because we heard that you were EFFING CRYING” Ryuji responded a bit desperate.

“The rumor started flying about 10 minutes ago, and when me and Ryuji heard it, we decided to look for you.” Ann continued. “We found Haru and Morgana after, and they said you had gone to see Makoto. We thought you two left, so we searched through the entirety of Yongen-Jaya and Central Street, since we thought you two had already left for the day.”

“It was then I remembered you were going to meet her at the student council room, but by then, we had already wasted 8 minutes.” Morgana said sheepishly. “We returned and finally found you two. Ren, are you okay?” The Garu user asked, worried.

“I am better now” The Wildcard responded honestly. “I… the rumors got to me. I…” He looked down. The four who recently arrived looked at him worried, wondering what happened. Ren took a deep breath and looked at his crush, who nodded to him. “I… actually did cry. The lies hurt so much… How can lies hurt so much…?” He said sadly. His five friends silent as he told them what happened, with Makoto nodding or holding his hand from time to time so he could keep going. He needed to tell them this. He needed to understand he could let himself be exposed in front of his friends, that they wouldn’t make fun of him for it and would help him with that burden. The Trickster had some difficulty opening up, but the more he told them, the less he hesitated and the easier it became to tell his story. After a few minutes, his friends were informed of what happened from start to finish.

The first to react was Ryuji, who said “Dammit! What the hell’s wrong with these people?!”

“Ryuji, calm down!” Ann responded. “Though… it does make me sick, the way these people treat Ren. How can they be so heartless to him?” She asked, worried about her friend.

“Ren-kun… I never knew you quietly accepted the rumors thrown into you…” Haru said sadly. “To be honest… I believed in the rumors when you came here back in April… though now I see they are completely baseless and mean-spirited. I’m sorry, Ren-kun” The girl apologized and bowed.

He was shocked at her formality, but then remembered Haru only joined them a few weeks ago. It felt longer than that. “Come on, there’s no need to bow here, Haru” Ren responded. “You’re my friend. And it’s all in the past now. Besides, I got all of you. I don’t need anyone else right now.”

Ryuji smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his neck, messing with his hair. Ann let out a small squeal and hugged Ren, calling him ‘cute’. Morgana, who was silently watching everything, jumped on his bag and scratched his head on Ren’s cheek. Haru joined the hug. Makoto decided to stand back and watch the scene unfold, deciding she had done enough. Ren had different thoughts, though, as he pulled her into the impromptu group hug, making her shriek and blush as she felt him wrap his arm around her. They let each other go and smiled.

“Ren-kun, we will always be here for you. If you ever find yourself in this situation or some similar ordeal, let us know. We’ll help you in every way we can.” Haru said.

“Seconded. You’re a bro, man, and bros got each other’s backs, right?!” Ryuji continued, excited.

“Yep! What kind of lame friends would we be if we didn’t help our leader?” Ann said in her usual happy way.

“Even though you’re our leader and are really strong, you’re only human. Don’t forget to share these burdens with us. After all, your burdens are our burdens! Phantom Thieves help each other out in any way and every time!” Morgana said happily.

“We’ll always be here for you, Ren-kun.” Makoto finished in a simple way. Ren beamed at them all.

Out of nowhere, they all got a message on their phones. It was the Phantom Thieves group chat. They all checked their screens curiously, wondering who sent a sudden message and why.

* * *

 

 **Yusuke:** Leader, if you need my assistance, I will gladly offer it. Be it emotional or physical wounds, I shall help you in any way I can!

 **Ren:** Thanks, Yusuke. But why the sudden offer?

 **Yusuke:** You were in a difficult emotional trial. There were even tears flowing down from your eyes like a beautiful waterfall. I decided to send my support so I could show you I shall always be at your side.

 **Makoto:** How did you know Ren-kun was crying, though?

 **Futaba:** You didn’t forget that I had bugged your phone, did you, Ren?

 **Ren:** …

 **Futaba:** Oh, come on, you seriously forgot?! I thought the protagonist was supposed to remember the important stuff of their journey!

 **Ren:** What do you mean by that…?

 **Futaba:** “…I got great friends. I got a new family. I got the Phantom Thieves. I got you…” While the scene was bad and those people were jerks, you chose one of the cheesiest lines you could have ever picked!

 **Ryuji:** Uhh, what are you talkin’ about?

 **Ann:** Wait, were you listening in on Ren and Makoto?

 **Futaba:** Mayyybeee.

* * *

 

Ren and Makoto then looked at each other with their faces as red as Arsene. Futaba had clearly listened in on their whole conversation and called Yusuke at one point so he could hear it too. Ann, Ryuji, Haru and Morgana looked at the two of them with smirks on their faces. The leader and second in command just wished they could be anywhere else at the moment.

Ryuji gave them both a thumbs up, Ann and Haru gave them a sweet smile and Morgana just did his funny but weird laugh. Futaba, still connected to Ren’s phone and probably watching everything through his camera, decided to comment.

* * *

 

 **Futaba:** And caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn you feeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllll the looooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighttttttttttttttttttttt

 **Yusuke:** I approve of this as well. May I ask that I paint the two of you together? I always wanted to paint the love of man and woman in one of my works.

 **Makoto:** LOVE?!

 **Ren:** WHAT?!

 **Futaba:** You can’t deny it! I have it all in audio!

 **Ryuji:** Oh, I wanna listen! Can you send me the file?

 **Ann:** Ooohhh! Me too, please!

 **Haru:** I am curious as well!

 **Ren:** FUTABA, FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN, DELETE THAT AUDIO FILE

 **Futaba:** Make me! This is one of the best things I have ever heard, “Big Bro”!

 **Futaba:** The file is uploading, guys! In a few seconds, you’ll be able to listen to the glorious cheesiness! (｀ε´)

**Makoto: FUTABA, DELETE THAT AT ONCE OR I’LL BREAK YOUR LAPTOP, YOUR PHONE AND MAKE SURE YOU’LL NEVER GET ANY OF THOSE AGAIN IN YOUR LIFE!!!**

**Futaba:** Audio deleted pls dont kill me (O∆O)

 **Ryuji:** How could you?!

 **Makoto:** We are NOT speaking about this audio EVER AGAIN. Are we clear?!

 **Ryuji:** Y-yes ma’am…

 **Ann:** Makoto is scary when she’s mad…

 **Haru:** Oh… sorry, Mako-chan…

 **Makoto:** It’s okay. Now let’s just drop this and go home, okay? We are all tired after today.

 **Ren:** I agree. Though I’d like a moment alone with Makoto guys. Can you all leave beforehand?

 **Ryuji:** Okay.

 **Ann:** Okay!

 **Haru:** Most certainly!

 **Yusuke:** Of course.

 **Makoto:** And Futaba…

 **Futaba:** Yeah, yeah, don’t hack his phone or else I lose hacking privileges. Got it. (=｀.´=)

* * *

 

 

After some insistence and pleading from the pair who wanted some privacy, Ryuji, Ann, Haru and Morgana left, the latter going in Haru’s bag to Leblanc. They wanted to stay and talk to them, but realized the leader and second in command were tired. They'd talk to them later. Haru wanted to taste Boss’ coffee after hearing from everyone how good it was.

The black haired boy and brunette, now alone again, didn’t know what to say as an awkward atmosphere set itself up in the sunset basked room.

“Seems we won’t be able to head to the red-light district today… it’s getting dark” Ren commented.

“Hm-hm.” Makoto responded, clearly not knowing how to react to… everything.

“…”

“…”

“Well… I guess I’ll… be going now…”

“…”

Ren was about to head out, thinking he screwed everything up again, but Makoto grabbed his wrist. She didn’t look at him as she asked “Ren-kun… about what you said earlier today… that… you couldn’t hurt one of the most important people in your life… were you referring to me? And… did you really mean it…?”

He looked at her, shocked and in silence. He then quietly responded.

“Yes… and…  I did.”

She finally looked at him with wide eyes. They were both blushing hard and their minds were blank. They stayed in silence for a few seconds that felt like hours. Makoto then leaned up against him and kissed his cheek. He looked at her shocked, blushing even harder somehow. She looked sheepishly at him and said “Thanks”. He nodded, and slowly left, leaving the two of them confused about their relationship. Were they just friends? Or was there something more…? That thought never left the heads of the two teenagers as they parted ways for the day.

Ren was sad he was leaving Makoto alone and confused, but he was in the same boat as her. He needed to head home and relax. He almost got expelled because of a cocky asshole who hit Makoto, was accused of hitting him and her, broke down and cried in front of her, had her comfort him, had their friends also comfort him and discover that his pseudo-sister had listened in on the entire conversation, while almost leaking his and Makoto’s heart to heart to the rest of the thieves. Saying he was exhausted would be an understatement. Even Mementos or Palace trips weren’t as emotionally and mentally exhausting. He returned to Leblanc slowly, replaying the entire day in his head, focusing on his feelings for his crush, noticing that they were even stronger now. When he got there, Haru was happily chatting with Sojiro about coffee, praising him on his craftsmanship. After seeing how tired Ren was, though, she decided to leave. Morgana said that he had to go somewhere else and told the leader of the Phantom Thieves to go to sleep early and bid him goodnight. Said boy nodded as he noticed the cat accompanied the coffee shop owner to his house. Was he going to talk to Futaba? Well, whatever. He was tired and wanted to crash into his bed.

Meanwhile, Makoto packed her things up and left, doing the exact same things as the boy she was thinking about. She thought of her own feelings for the boy. She was just a friend to him… right? Just the second in command of the Phantom Thieves and good friend…

That sounded less and less like the case the more she replayed the day’s events on her head.

They both got a lot of messages on their phones, but decided against checking them. They loved their friends, but they knew what the topic was and both were REALLY tired. They’d speak to their comrades another time.

When they both were finally ready to go to sleep, they crashed down on their beds and looked up. They both smiled, however, as they noticed something important about the day.

They were happy together, no matter the status of their relationship. And that was a truth that would fill their chests with warmth as they finally ended the day, drifting off peacefully, dreaming about each other. One last thought filled their minds before they slept.

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart…”

* * *

 

 Futaba created the group “Operation: Dating Sim!”

Futaba added Ryuji

Futaba added Ann

Futaba added Yusuke

Futaba added Haru

 **Futaba:** Welcome to the most important operation of the year, fellow thieves! I’m glad you could join me on this quest.

 **Ryuji:** Uhh, you know YOU’RE the one who added us here, right? We'd be in this "quest" whether we wanted to be in it or not! And what’s this… “Operation Dating Sim” thing?

 **Ann:** And why aren’t Ren and Makoto in this group?

 **Yusuke:** Didn’t Futaba tell you of our plans?

 **Haru:** What plans?

 **Futaba:** Nope! Wanted this to be a surprise for them!

 **Yusuke:** Wouldn’t it be better if you had told them about our plan sooner?

 **Futaba:** Nope!

 **Yusuke:** Care to explain why?

 **Futaba:** It’s a secret to everybody.

 **Yusuke:** What does that even mean?

 **Ann:** Oh, I got the reference!

 **Futaba:**  Achievement get! Stayed on the internet longer than 10 minutes! 

 **Haru:** Getting back to the topic at hand, Futaba, why did you create this group? And what is a… dating sim?

 **Futaba:** Well, I made this thing so we could hook up Ren and Makoto! (HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT A DATING SIM IS GO SEARCH IT ON GOOGLE. Just don’t search for Hunie Pop)

 **Haru:** Why?

 **Ann:** Because they are so totally in love with each other! Didn’t you notice the way they were closer than usual earlier today? (Also, really, reeeeaaalllyyy don't search for Hunie Pop)

 **Haru:** Now that you mention it… there were some holes in Ren-kun’s explanation to us. Are you saying what he left out was Mako-chan comforting him?

 **Futaba:** Yep! Don’t forget, I got ears everywhere, so I kinda heard them being really close together.

 **Ryuji:** Damn, you’re scary, Futaba…

 **Futaba:** But seriously, they’re both head over heels in love! And both don’t say a thing to each other! It feels like those clichéd romantic anime! And we don’t want Ren to fall into the plot point of being in love and never getting the girl because he couldn’t tell her his feelings!

 **Yusuke:** I did notice Ren would react differently when I mentioned Makoto’s being to him.

 **Ann:** What do you mean?

 **Yusuke:** He would get flustered when I mentioned how I noticed they were getting closer, saying that he seemed to enjoy his time with her in a different way than he enjoys his time with us.

 **Ryuji:** Dude, you called him out on the way he was actin’?!

 **Yusuke:** Well, yes. He slowly started to change his behavior toward her. If there was any way I could help him in that regard, of course I would tell him that I support him fully and that he can trust me.

 **Ryuji:** Dude, you do NOT call out a guy who’s in love! It goes against… well… uh… somethin'.

 **Futaba:** Aaaanywaays, we gotta hook them up! Big bro can’t just keep getting red-faced when we comment about Makoto.

 **Ann:** Oh my god.

 **Ann:** I just thought of how romantic it would be if they hooked up.

 **Ann:** Count me in!

 **Ryuji:** Well, even though it would be breaking the Bro Code, I’m gonna help! Anything to make our guy happy!

 **Yusuke:** Not only him, but Makoto has also been confused about her feelings for our leader. This could become serious if it continued unattended. I shall help as well; Ren and Makoto are two of the most important people in my life.

 **Haru:** Hm… If them getting together means happiness for the two of them, then I see no harm in lending a hand! Consider me a part of this operation!

 **Futaba:** Great! Oh, and Mona’s in on this too. Said Ren could screw something up if he doesn’t know what to do with his feelings.

 **Futaba:** We can talk more tomorrow, tho. It’s already late and I got stuff to take care of. See ya!

 **Ryuji:** Crap, I gotta help my mom with the laundry! Oh man… See you guys!

  **Ann:** Okay, see you!

 **Haru:** I hope you all rest well!

 **Yusuke:** Farewell for now.

 **Futaba:** Inari, don’t go to sleep yet. Gotta talk to you soon.

 **Yusuke:** What about?

 **Futaba:** You’ll see soon enough.

* * *

 

 **Futaba:** Okay, I just checked their phones. They’re asleep and I'll delete these messages before Ren checks my phone when he gets home.

 **Futaba:** Hey, Inari, do you still have the audio?

 **Yusuke:** Please, do not call me by that name. Although, yes, I do still have it.

 **Futaba:** Should we delete it? I know everyone wanted to hear it, but it kinda makes me feel like a jerk. I mean, I recorded Ren and Makoto’s heart to heart conversation. That’s obviously a jerk move, huh?

 **Yusuke:** Yes. But while it was certainly a “jerk move”, it did let us know of our leader’s vulnerable side. I think I shall keep it for artistic purposes. Inspiration will certainly strike me if I hear this again someday!

 **Futaba:** Whatever you say Inari. You’re a weirdo.

 **Yusuke:** Stop calling me that!

 **Futaba:** Too late. Weirdo, weirdo, weirdo.

 **Yusuke:** Ngh!

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of this fic come to me after I finished playing Persona 5 and saw a video on Youtube showing the comments the students would have when you scored top of the class. I decided to challenge myself and make this story/character study of Ren. Since... ya know... he doesn't react to rumors in the game. 'Cause he's silent (I'm a genius for pointing that out). 
> 
> I sincerely hope you enjoyed this story. I'd like to hear your feedback (positive and negative) and criticism so I can improve my writing!
> 
> EDIT: Adjusted some phrases to be more grammatically correct and added a few small details to some comments the characters make.  
> EDIT 2: Changed the troublemaker's name from Eijiro Kirishima to Neito Monoma, as suggested by the user Random Passerby. Thanks for your help, dude!  
> FINAL EDIT: Adjusted more grammatical errors (thanks Grammarly!). This is the final edit before the next chapter comes out tomorrow (7/18/2018), so I hope you're excited for it!


End file.
